Path to Redemption
by Immortal Yin-Yang Sacrifice
Summary: Slash. Roark X Riley. Post Diamond and Pearl. 2 years after the team Galatic Crisis, a major earthquake happened on Iron Island. Roark goes to check it out, finds Riley, and... A bigger thing is about to unfold. Bigger then the two could have imagined..


**Author's Note: **Discontinued as of 6/3/12

**Disclamer: **Don't own characters.

* * *

_**The Rocky Road**_

It was a hot, rather humid day out on the ocean, the black clouds that rolled above gave an odd sense of foreboding. Though, one could never assume that the rain would fall. The breezes from the ocean weren't refreshing, however; they made it hotter, as the air blown from the ocean was warm. The dry, arid air rose up, nearly drying one's lungs from the heat it brought. The unusual drought was most unexpected, though the boat sped on, shooting up foam and streams of water.

The boat ride from Canalave City to Iron Island was a short one, but it did give one time to enjoy the beautiful oceanic scenery. Even as one traveled to the lone island in the middle of the vast ocean, one could make out the faint silhouette of Fullmoon Island, said to house a legendary Pokemon. However... No one had ever really encountered the representant of the crescent moon, so it was dismissed as a rumor.

The light of the hot, bright sun bore down on the waves, illuminating them majestically. It was almost... Hypnotizing how the waves rose and fell, the light riding them like an expert surfer. The water was crystal clear, so some fish Pokemon could be seen dashing through the water. Gyarados and Lumineon were some that could be made out.

Slowly, Sinnoh was recovering from the threat and utter defeat of Team Galatic by one mere Trainer who had come and gone by this time. He had become a legend, finally reaching the Champion level and reveered around the world. It was funny, actually... When one thought about it. The kid worked up through the ranks, beating all the Gym Leaders and the Elite. It didn't happen every day, one had to envy someone like that. It all seemed like it happened so recently... Not almost two years ago.

Eventually, the boat pulled up to the dock, the man onboard getting jutted from his thoughts from the stop, and almost tumbling over. Catching himself, he could hear the sailor laugh from his jumbled state.

"Eh Roark? Shouldn't ya know when the ship is about to stop?" The man laughed again, receiving a glare as the Gym Leader straightened himself out.

Fixing his glasses, he pushed them up to the bridge of his nose, arching a brow slightly. "I suppose." He responded flatly, brushing himself off. Word spread fast in Sinnoh, and out thus to the other regions of the world. This sailor... He had gone through an odd hardship those few years ago. His son had fallen into a nearly unbreakable sleep, until that brave trainer came and got the item to heal the boy off of Fullmoon Island. The man seemed to have recovered from the mild shock, not too surprising.

"Didja hear?" The sailor suddenly said, as he watched Roark gather his belongings.

"Hear what?" He responded, keeping his red hard hat off. It was too hot to be wearing heavy duty mining gear yet.

"This area suffered a major earthquake just recently. I hear it caused a land slide somewhere within the mountain."

"Hmmm..." Roark thought, crossing his arms over his chest. He didn't watch too much television so... "I think my dad mentioned something about it..." He shrugged slightly, things in hand, he started off the boat and onto the dock leading onto the island.

It was just as hot on the island as on the boat, if not hotter. Roark stood for a moment, taking in the sights of the island before him. The island was empty of inhabitants, only one lone home stood on it. Though, that is not to say trainers didn't sometimes come here for training, and the catching of a Steelix or two.

To be honest, Roark hadn't been here in awhile. He lived and worked in Oreburgh City, running the gym and helping with the Oreburgh Mine. Canalave City was a ways away from there, so it was rare for him to come out here. But, hearing about the earthquake, he decided to check it out in his father's place. Roark, while being a Gym Leader, liked to explore in the caves and through the underground that tunneled just beneath Sinnoh. Like it was said... Trainers don't come around every day, and it wasn't a sin to take some time off.

Being slim made it slightly easier for the Gym Leader. He was commonly seen in his mining clothing, which consisted of a black undershirt, and a gray, sleeved vest. A pair of gray pants clung to his legs, and were tucked into his black boots. Normally, he wore a red hard hat with a light, but the heat made it too much for him, so he held it under his arm. His mahagony colored hair was messy with helmet hair, but he didn't pay too much mind, those mahagony hues looking around through his black framed glasses. He decided to stop by the lone home on the island.

Going up the steps that lead to the second level of elevation, he sucked in a breath as he approched the door. Hand reaching for the knob, he turned it until the wheel and axel moved to release the door. It opened without resistance. "He doesn't lock the door?" He asked in a skeptical voice, and odd expression crossed his face as he pushed the door open, figuring to find the home devoid of any items.

Once the door was opened, a shocked expression hit him. Everything as there, even the television. Well... It's not like it wouldn't look funny if someone came to the boat with a television... But, everything was in place. Maybe there really were honest people in the world, that... Or maybe his father didn't have anything worth stealing. It wasn't like his father could keep a constant eye on this place either. The man was busy too...

Byron, Roark's father, was the leader of the Canalave City gym, one of the last few on a trainer's journey to the top... Even though Canalave City was kinda out of the way. They had the only library in Sinnoh, however, and in some of those books, it explained the creation of the Sinnoh Region. There were lots of regions in the world... All with their own legends... Own Pokemon... Besides Zubat and Geodude. They occupied the world over. At any rate, Roark sighed, and decided it was best to leave and continue on to get to the cave that was buried within Iron Island's mountain.

Stepping out, it seemed almost hotter then when he was outside before. But... That was only because he was going from hot to cold and back into heat. It hit him hard, but he adjusted quickly, considering he was used to being underground... Anyway... He held his stuff, as he walked away from the home, and up the final steps that lead to the mouth of the cave.

Going into the cave, he was immediately hit with the darkness. The cave mouth let in little to no light, and it was hard for him to see. Placing his hard hat on his head, he turned the switch, and light flooded out from it. Moving to his back pack, he pulled out a lantern and set it on the ground, before starting to dig through the pack for matches. Disorganized... Sure, but it's not like Roark had much time to think. He went on a whim with what he had packed prior to this event. For what seemed like forever, he dug until he found them, pulling one out and striking it on the back. Lighting the oil based lamp, he shook his hand to put the match out before putting the spent match, and the rest of them, back into his pack. Throwing it back on his back, he picked up the lantern and started into the bowels of the cave.

There was never anything too interesting on the first few floors of the caves. Just some wild Pokemon looking for a fight, but... They also seemed distraught. Probably from the earthquake, Roark concluded. Earthquakes were rare in Sinnoh, expecially on Iron Island. An earthquake hadn't happened since Team Galatic's antics at Lake Valor, when they used the bomb to empty the lake and capture one of the three mirage Pokemon. It was a failure, of course... But, the team's ultimate goal was to use one of the ancient Pokemon that resided on the Spear Pillar to create a new world.

Although... None of that was important at this time. When Roark had gotten to the bottom of the cave, through the man-made stairs, and the old elevators, dust seemed to seep around. The disruption from the earthquake... The air was stale and stagment, hardly moving at all. Moving the lantern around, he tried to get an idea of the area that he was currently in... And where the land slide might have been.

A loud inhuman cry suddenly caught the Gym Leader's fleeting attention, and he snapped back, blinking. Where had it come from? The question hung in the air like a bad itch. With how this cave was built, the passages were slim, and sound echoed off of them. The cry could have come from anywhere in the expanse of black space played out before him, but... He didn't exactly have time to waste. Not only was something in trouble, but the sailor wouldn't wait forever for him.

With a heavy sigh, Roark pressed on, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from, but... The cavern's expanse was too large for him to scope and cover inch for inch. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small Pokeball, before pressing the button on the front. The ball expanded almost immediately, and throwing it, it opened, light pouring forth and shaping into a large, rock snake Pokemon.

"Onix..." Roark said to his faithful Pokemon, as he motioned it closer. "Go out... And see if you can find the source of the noise..." With that, the Onix was off, before Roark could say anything more. Blinking faintly, he started to walk around again, trying to think. If it was a Pokemon, it wouldn't be too bad, they could be healed... But... If it was a person... That would be bad... They were on an island, with nothing for medical treatment.

What seemed like hours, was only a few moments, and Roark was hit with the full force of a charging Onix. Both being thrown into a wall, the air was knocked out of the Gym Leader as he fell to the ground, gasping for breath. It wasn't every day you were hit with an Onix tail... Panting slighty, he started to get air back into his oxygen starved lungs, looking around. Apparently... Onix had found something.

Grabbing his glasses, which had fallen off, he wiped them with his sleeve, placing them on his noise, and looking to the Onix. "What?" He asked, observing as he Onix dove back through the darkness before him. Slowly, Roark got up on his shakey legs, before starting to run, trip, and tumble after the rock snake.

Roark's progress was finally stopped as he slammed, once more, into the hard rock of his Pokemon. The sudden stop had thrown the man off. Getting up with the help of grabbing onto his Onix's smooth rock body, and sliding down a few times, he looked around. Before them, was a wall of rock, though... It was slightly loose... This is where the landslide happened... Looking up, he blinked. There was odd marks on the ceiling, and gun powder on the ground. This was no accident... Someone deliberately did this...

"Lu..." A weak voice said, causing Roark to look down. A light gasp escaped his lips as he took in the sight of a fallen Lucario. Now... Lucario's were rare, and they weren't wild. Only a hand full of trainers owned a Lucario. This Pokemon definately belonged to someone. That meant that there was someone behind this wall. Turning to his Onix, he commanded it to use Iron Tail, to help destroy the wall made by the rock slide.

Finally... The Onix had cleared enough rocks and debree out of the way for Roark to pry the weakened Lucario out. Though, he misjudged it a bit, and when the Lucario poped out from the wedged hole, Roark, and the Lucario went flying backwards into the ground. Today was definately not the Gym Leader's day. Groaning lightly, he moved to sit up shakeily, the Lucario falling into his lap. Grabbing his pack, he started to dig into it again, trying to see if he packed any Potions. "Ah!" He exclaimed, as he pulled out one of the Super Potions he had stocked up on. Moving the canine-like Pokemon in his lap, he started to spray it with the healing liquid held within the bottle.

When it was empty, he threw it into his pack, watching as the Lucario's red hues opened. It looked around, before jumping up. "Lucar!" The Pokemon exclaimed, glaring at Roark.

"Excuse me...?" He asked, watching as the Pokemon jumped from his lap and over to the fallen rocks that blocked the passage. Brushing off, Roark stood up, and walked over to the Lucario, watching it frantically dig at the rocks, and try to move them. "Something is on the other side..." He deducted, calling the Onix over, and telling it to break the wall open. Stepping back, he grabbed the Lucario, moving it out of the Onix's way. "Easy... Onix will break through the wall, settle down." Roark said softly, feeling the Pokemon ease up. He had always been told Lucario were smart, and could understand what humans said.

Roark and Lucario watched as the Onix slammed against the wall, trying to break through it. With an explosion of power, the wall finally gave way, crumbling to the ground. With that, the Lucario escaped from Roark and disappeared into the shadows. Wasting no time, he started to run after it, not wanting to lose it in the maze that seemed to occupy this mountain. Catching up to the Pokemon, he noticed it was knelt down next to something. "What's wrong?" Roark asked, as he knelt down, watching the Lucario push and nudge at the rocks.

Well... One never learned by just observing, so... Roark moved, and started to pull rocks away, along with the Lucario. If there was really something under here... Then they had to be careful, and remove rocks at a steady pace. Slowly, the Gym Leader started to wonder what really happened here... Earthquakes and rock slides? That was definately not common... Not at all... After pulling rocks for awhile, and when fatigue was starting to settle in, Roark and the Lucario discovered what they were looking for.

There... On the ground... In a slightly bloody heap of mess... Was a man on his stomach. He was wearing a navy blue coat, with black pants... A navy colored hat, with grayish-blue hair. The clothing was tatered and ripped, the smooth, pale skin showing from underneath. The man didn't look too good, and Lucario nudged and proded him, trying to get a reaction. Roark was speechless for a moment, before turning and looking to the at bay Onix. "Onix." He called to his Pokemon, as he moved closer to the man. "Let me take him..." Roark said to the Lucario, who moved out of his way.

Picking up the man, Roark struggled to stand up, holding him bridal style. He was afraid he would fall over if he slung the man over his shoulder. Moving over to the Onix, he placed the wounded boy on the rock snake's body, before jumping on himself. The Lucario came up too, jumping on and watching Roark intently. "Onix, take us out of here... Fast..." The Gym Leader related to his Pokemon, before it took off, nearly knocking him back.

Regaining his balance, Roark placed a hand against his head, as it started to pound. "What a day..." He murmured lowly, as the Onix crused through the tunnels with ease. Then... Something hit him. "Wait a moment... Isn't there a... AAAHHH!" He screamed and grabbed on as the Onix went down the final shaft, missing the elevator completely. For some reason... Roark knew the Lucario wasn't too happy with the Onix's desicion. They hit the ground roughly, all three of them nearly getting thrown from the rock Pokemon's body. The Gym Leader started to wonder if it could get any worse as the Onix started to move again, going out the exit.

The light hit him hard, and he had lost his lantern in the fry. Owell, he had more back in Oreburgh City. When the light hit him, he closed his hues, trying to adjust to the sudden light change. Today was just a bad day... And it wasn't over. As the Onix was going down hill and picking up speed, Roark realized they were going into a ditch, and it would lanch them at this speed. "Onix!" He called, as he grabbed on, bracing himself. "STOP!" He yelled, but too late. The Onix was already into the ditch and up it. Soon, the Onix, Roark, Lucario, and the injured man were lanched high into the air. What a sight that would have made... They easily cleared right over the ship, until... SPLASH! Right into the water, and going under.


End file.
